Magical Realism in SoS

I've found that the magical realism in Toni Morrison's novel Song of Solomon is much more subtle than it is in Beloved. Nonetheless, there is still a great deal of magical realism in Morrison's style of writing that plays an integral role in her messages to her readers. The most obvious magical realism in Song of Solomon is the motif of flight and wings. The concept of flying is important in the novel because it represents spiritual and physical liberation for her black characters. However, the ability to fly comes with sacrifices. When Milkman and Guitar encounter the white peacock (another moment of magical realism) in Chapter 8, Guitar exclaims, "Can't nobody fly with all that shit. You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down" (179). An example of this is Mr. Smith's suicide with his "blue silk wings" (9). Mr. Smith was never truly able to fly or achieve liberation because of the pressure behind being part of the Seven Days. Another example of magical realism in the novel is Pilate; her lack of a navel, her bag of bones, and her snuff-box earring containing her name make her an important aspect to the magical realism in the novel. Pilate, although a somewhat bizarre character, serves as a foil for Milkman's character because she opens his mind to spirituality instead of materialism.

Storytelling - SoS

In Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, storytelling plays an integral role in the depiction and reputations of different characters. Throughout the story, Milkman listens to the different perspectives of people in his life. This allows him to see how bias affects stories, and how people can manipulate a story by exposing some details over others. In some instances in the novel, the stories told are filled with nostalgia and express fondness of the storyteller's past; however, in other instances, some stories told from different perspectives cause conflicts in the novel. When Milkman first meets Pilate, he doesn't have any pre-meditated judgements about his aunt. Pilate reminisces about her childhood with Macon and speaks about their father's death as Milkman and Guitar listen. However, immediately after his visit to Pilate's house, Milkman is reprimanded by his father for going to see her. Nonetheless, when Macon goes on to talk about his childhood experience, there isn't a significant difference between the two perspectives. In both stories, Pilate and Macon express feelings of immense, crippling, grief and fear surrounding the murder of their father. Later on, the difference between the two stories is revealed to be about the white man's gold and their experience in the cave. Pilate, in stark comparison to Macon, is not concerned with material matters whatsoever. Her motivations surround spirituality and self-guidance whereas Macon is acquisitive and self-absorbed. Therefore, the differences in the stories revolve solely around the motivations of the characters.
Ruth and Macon also have different perspectives in their storytelling that divide the two characters. Macon hates Ruth because he believes that she was in a strange, sexual relationship with her father. Ruth, however, claims that the relationship was not sexual; instead she claims that her father was the only person who cared whether she lived or died. Furthermore, Ruth believes that Macon was involved in expediting her father's death by hiding his medications. In this case, Ruth's craving for love and affection changes her perspective of her story, whereas Macon's jealous and domineering attitude changes his perception of the past.

How can a novel address issues of race and gender and also be universal?

The Toni Morrison quote from Ms. Maxey truly made me think about how issues of race and gender are portrayed by the media and through art. Often times, when a person of one race is portraying the life experiences of a person belonging to another race, there is always more explanation than emotion. This is because the person lacks personal experience and therefore lacks a source of genuine emotion towards the subject. For example, even if a white person tries to empathize with a black person over the topic of racial bias and discrimination in America, they will never be able to entirely understand and feel the weight of the topic because they lack the emotional awareness necessary. As Morrison said, "the black writers always explained something to somebody else," because they thought that the audience would not be able to understand the black experience otherwise. Similarly, white authors writing about the lives of African Americans are explanatory and apologetic. Due to this, the topic of racial issues can polarize the audience of a novel. Nonetheless, Toni Morrison is still able to grasp and explain topics of race because she simply hones in on her writing and the story without direct explanation or apology. However, the way groups experience her writing differs. Members of Morrison's audience from the black community are able to feel the weight of the issues discussed; other races represented in her audience are simply there to appreciate Morrison's writing, to learn, and to listen to the stories in order to further their understanding of racial issues. While the way Morrison's writing style addresses issues of race in America technically allows her to reach a universal audience, the way that one group understands the topics will greatly differ from the comprehension and emotional response of another group.

Definition of Poetry

Though Merriam-Webster defines poetry as metrical writing, this isn't necessarily true. Poetry, like many other art forms, is very open-ended. However, a poem's structure is never random; the format is always thoroughly deliberated in order to arouse certain emotions. There are many other things that help separate poetry from other works of literature. While a novel has several themes and layers to convey a story, a poem often holds a central theme throughout. A poem's syntax and diction is also always intentional and specific. Another thing that defines a poem is that it either has some resolution, or it leaves the conclusion with loose-ends. This allows ambiguity for individual interpretations by the audience. However, even if there isn't a resolution to the poem and there are several different interpretations, this doesn't mean that the poet is indifferent towards the subject; in fact, the poet always has to have a stance on the subject being discussed. Otherwise, if the poet is indifferent towards the subject, then it is simply not a poem because it lacks an emotional source.

Milkman challenges - SoS

In Song of Solomon, Milkman faces much difficulty in rebuilding his reputation and in making an identity of his own. Milkman earns his unfortunate nickname because he was secretly breastfed long past the age of which a child is usually weaned. Although breastfeeding forms a bond between a mother and her child, Ruth’s continuation of this act, something she refers to as one of her “secret indulgences” (13), becomes almost sexually charged. This causes Milkman and his family to be scrutinized. Milkman also faces physical challenges because one of his legs is shorter than the other giving him a limp. Furthermore, Milkman’s relationship with his domineering, misogynistic, and abusive father makes him feel like he is not acknowledged properly in the home. However, when Milkman comes to the defense of his mother and punches his father into the radiator, his attitude changes for a brief moment, “Infinite possibilities and enormous responsibilities stretched out before him, but he was not prepared to take advantage of the former, or accept the burden of the latter” (68). Milkman punching Macon is significant because he was able to overcome his physical challenges and his father’s domineering attitude. Also because of this, when Milkman comes to the defense of his mother, he soon learns from Macon the history behind his hatred for Ruth.

Natality, Vitality, and Mortality - SoS

In Toni Morrison's novel, Song of Solomon, different stages of life are contrasted. In the opening scene of Chapter 1, a black insurance agent named Mr. Smith is drawing attention from passersby as he contemplates jumping off the roof of Mercy Hospital. In his suicide note, he claims "I will... fly away on my own wings" (3). In black folktale literature, the ability to fly represents freedom and the fulfillment of wishes. In Mr. Smith's case, his leap to death represents his liberation from his own suffering. Among the bystanders of his suicide includes a pregnant woman, Ruth, and the "singing woman," Pilate. Pilate, suspected to have supernatural powers, mentions to Ruth "A little bird'll be here with the morning" (9). This moment introduces the motif of birth and connects the theme of flying as a means of liberation. Furthermore, the juxtaposition of birth and death builds a contrast which raises the question of what living truly is. From what I've gathered so far, in Song of Solomon, living can only be achieved when equality among races is attained. For instance, in Chapter 1, one of Macon's daughters says that she has "found a dead bird." The significance of the dead bird is that it symbolizes Mr. Smith's suicide and his unfulfilled wish for freedom while also commenting on the price that others have to pay in order to be truly equal.

Telling is Listening

In the article "Telling is Listening: Ursula K. Le Guin on the Magic of Real Human Conversation," the author stressed the importance of real human communication and the methods of how conversation is received by other humans. However, when I was reading Le Guin's analogy about the two boxes, Box A and Box B, I couldn't help but make connections to the HBO series "Westworld." In Le Guin's analogy, she states that communication between the two boxes are connected by a transmitter. When Box A sends a message, it must carefully code the information so the transmitter may act as a medium to carry the message to Box B. On the other end, Box B is programmed to receive and decode the message. While Box A and Box B are meant to symbolize human consciousness and the ability to code and decode verbal or nonverbal messages, Le Guin also states that one box could symbolize a human and the other a computer. Later in the article, Le Guin also relates communication to sex between amoebas -- each unicellular organism is able to swap internal genetic information with another amoeba, unlike human reproduction, a one-way system. This relates back to the example of human consciousness versus a computer, which brings me back to my connection of this to "Westworld." In the series, communication is pre-programmed for the Hosts (Hosts in the show are essentially "robots" controlled by artificial intelligence). The Hosts are shown to be inferior to the Guests (human visitors to the park) because they are programmed to be at the disposal of the Guests. However, although the Hosts are programmed to give and receive information in specific ways, therefore following specific patterns in their day-to-day lives. This reveals how the Hosts and Guests are not much different in the way each functions. This reminds me, like the article did, the importance of genuine human conversation and connection. Furthermore, it brought to light how the way communication is received and deciphered by another determines consciousness and humanity.

Cormac McCarthy Punctuation Rules

In the article "Cormac McCarthy's Three Punctuation Rules," there is a discussion about how the use of punctuation can overcomplicate writing. Cormac McCarthy, author of The Orchard Tree, is said to be highly influenced Neoclassicism English writers. However, unlike the style of many authors of this period, he believes that punctuation is often unnecessary. While punctuation is often used to provide clarity of who is speaking and to separate items or thoughts, McCarthy keeps punctuation to a minimum to provide clarity. In his writing, he never uses semicolons and has only used a colon once in all of his published works; McCarthy even omits the use of quotation marks entirely, forcing him to reimagine the way dialogue should be presented. Although his minimal use of punctuation is "to make it easier, not to make it harder," some of his works have been met by frustration by his audience and literary critics. Nonetheless, McCarthy's unconventional simplified syntax has surely challenged readers to rethink the way that punctuation is used in modern literature.

GoST - Anti-Bildungsroman

I was reading a New York Times article, "A Silver Thimble in Her Fist" by Alice Truax, and she brought up an interesting point that The God of Small Things is actually an "Anti-Bildungsroman "because Estha and Rahel are never able to live a proper childhood or experience a genuine coming-of-age. Though the twins have escapist techniques to remove themselves from the family's overall discontent -- Rahel's imagination and Estha's love for Elvis Presley and The Sound of Music -- their childhood wonder is exploited early in their lives. The catalyst of this loss of innocence is Estha's molestation by the Orangedrink Lemondrink man. After this event, Estha's outlook on life becomes much too pessimistic for a child of his age, however, because Estha is cognizant of the unpredictability and horrors that life can bring he tries to protect Rahel's innocence. Estha's fear of the Orangedrink Lemondrink man coming to find him in Ayemenem leads to him trying to protect Rahel by crossing the river to the History House -- the scene in which Sophie Mol dies. Sophie Mol's death is also a factor of the twins' loss of innocence, but not only because of the responsibility and guilt they feel. Because Baby Kochamma blames Velutha for kidnapping the twins -- leading to Velutha being beat to death -- the twins also feel responsibility for Velutha's death. The God of Small Things as an "Anti-Bildungsroman" brings to light the dangers of the exploitation of childhood and the effects it can have on a family.

NYT article: http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/25/reviews/970525.25truaxt.html

'The God of Small Things' is the Book That Changed My Life

In the article "The God of Small Things is the Book That Changed My Life," there is one point that Mai Nardone makes that truly resonates with me. Towards the end of the article, Nardone mentions that Arundhati Roy's novel holds similarities to dystopian novels in that it issues "the same warnings..., only less explicitly." Based in a country experiencing wakes of both communism and colonialism, Nardone explains that the characters living in Kerala are "caught in the orbit of local norms and societal pressures." In a dystopian novel, once a character is able to break from this orbit, he realizes that the pressures of society and of how someone should live come from within. One example of this in The God of Small Things is the idea of "love laws." The "love laws" stand as guidelines for the characters -- these "laws" issue warnings about how one person should love another and the dangers of loving someone too much. These love laws bring the characters outside of their bubble and bring them into a realization of the heartbreak and disappointment that life brings. Much like a dystopian novel, reading The God of Small Things forces us out of our comfortables scope and "takes us outside the sort of thinking to which we're accustomed." Nardone adds that because the intended audience of The God of Small Things is English speakers, Arundhati Roy directly brings us out of our comfort zones and forces us to face the reality of life in other parts of the world.

Single Story - GoST

The epigraph of The God of Small Things states a quote by John Berger, "Never again will a single story be told as though it's the only one." While Arundhati Roy's purpose of using this statement puzzles me (as I haven't yet read the entire novel), this quote obviously has meaning to the story. In every story told, perspective plays a quintessential role in portraying events and the opinions of those involved. However, as we learned earlier in the year from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED Talk, "The Danger of a Single Story," learning only from a single perspective can be hazardous and create a one-dimensional outlook on the world. Another person who addressed the idea of the single story is Susan Sontag in the article we read,"Susan Sontag on Storytelling." In Sontag's words, she states: "we can’t tell all the stories — certainly not simultaneously. We know we must pick one story, well, one central story; we have to be selective." Here Sontag takes a slightly different perspective on the issue but she conveys a very similar message. To Sontag, every story holds truth within another and humanity is joined together by the centrality of the messages. In The God of Small Things, it seems as if the danger of miscommunication -- the single story -- is what will tear the family apart. Though we are all different, every human has similar desires, goals, insecurities, and internal battles. Roy's use of this John Berger quote as the epigraph foreshadows that the single story, or perspective, will bring conflict.

Article:
https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/03/30/susan-sontag-writing-storytelling-at-the-same-time/

Ammu, Estha, and Rahel - GoST

So far in The God of Small Things, there is a central message about unrequited and complicated love. At the end of the first chapter, Arundhati Roy comments on many things that have "laws" in the minds of Rahel and Estha -- some of which are as simple and inconsequential as the classification of jam and jelly and some which are much more complex, such as love: "They all tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved and how" (31). Estha and Rahel, despite their unconditional care for their mother Ammu, have complicated feelings about how they love their mother. Ammu is a detached mother and has more feminist ideals than many other women of her time. She also sometimes has a temper which Roy refers to as an "Unsafe Edge" (44). Because of this, Estha and Rahel are confused about how they should feel about their mother, "Sometimes she was the most beautiful woman that Estha and Rahel had ever seen. And sometimes she wasn't" (44). However, Ammu's emotionally detached aura and independence doesn't mean she is indifferent about how her children are raised. In fact Ammu truly does care about Estha and Rahel but her complicated past (her toxic marriage to Baba) created an internal battle that Ammu has to fight everyday. Nonetheless, I've found that this "law" of love that Roy introduces in the first chapter is prevalent throughout the first few chapters of The God of Small Things."

Irony and Hypocrisy in "Untouchable"

In Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand, there are several instances of irony and hypocrisy. First and foremost, the caste system is hypocritical in itself. Though people are expected to be upstanding citizens to make it into the upper-castes, they treat the people of the lower-castes extremely poorly. Furthermore, despite the untouchables being unable to receive pay for their work, they are often required to pay more for goods than people of the upper-castes. This is seen when Bakha is cheated out of his money when buying candy in the market. Another instance of irony is when the priest molests Bakha's sister, Sohini, then blames her for touching him and defiling the temple. This irony embedded deeply in the caste system raises the question of whether people actually believe the untouchables are ridiculously inferior and unsanitary, or if they simply just try to exercise their "god-given" power and status. Nonetheless, if these people truly believe that good deeds and high morality will grant them a spot in the upper-castes during their next lives, most people would act more charitable and humane towards the untouchables.

FRQ

In literary works, point of view is important because it provides the lens through which the audience will see the world -- each point of view offers a different perspective and develops a largely different relationship with the audience. Choose a novel or play of literary merit in which the point of view is essential to conveying the author's central message. In a well-organized essay, briefly note the point of view in your novel of choice and explain how it relates to the novel as a whole.

Cleanliness in "Untouchable"

In Untouchable, cleanliness is a symbol of status. To the upper castes, the simple touch of an untouchable would "taint" a public facility, rendering it useless until someone of a higher caste was able to come clean it.  If an untouchable touched a person of an upper-caste, the person would have to clean themselves, "Now I will have to go and take a bath to purify myself" (37). In the novel, people who were able to keep themselves immaculately clean were seen as superior, whereas people who did not have access to clean themselves properly, like the untouchables, are seen as inferior. However, even though Bakha keeps himself clean despite his dehumanizing job of cleaning other peoples' feces, he is still seen as disgusting and literally untouchable. "And though his job was dirty he remained comparatively clean. He didn't even soil his sleeves, handling the commodes, sweeping and scrubbing them. 'a bit superior to his job,' they always said, 'not the kind of man to ought to be doing this.'...Here was a low-caste man who seemed clean!" (9). Nonetheless, to Bakha, cleanliness, like his eclectic English-Indian wardrobe, is a symbol of escape from his position in the caste system. Cleanliness represents hope, defiance, and suppresses Bakha's sense of inferiority to other castes.

Clothes in "Untouchable"

In the novel Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand, Bakha differs strongly from most of the people in his caste. Though many untouchables accept their position in the social hierarchy due to their faith, Bakha is more philosophical and often questions why he is where he is. Throughout the novel, Bakha is fascinated by the English, referred to as the "Tommies." To Bakha, the traditional Indian customs and garb represents something old and outdated, much like his feelings towards the cast system in its entirety. On the other hand, the Tommies display a fresh, new, and exciting way of life. He even felt ashamed about some behavioral customs of his people just "because he knew the Tommies disliked it" (12). Bakha's divergence from tradition is further demonstrated through his fascination with clothing. In the novel clothes are a symbol of identity and escapism: "he kept up his new form, rigidly adhering to his clothes day and night and guarding them from all base taint of Indianness, not even risking the forcefulness of an Indian quilt, though he shivered cold at night" (6). Though he does not have complete control over his clothing choices, Bakha takes every chance he gets to wear clothes worn similarly by the Tommies, thus giving him a very eclectic and non-traditional style. Furthermore, Bakha's sacrifice of comfort and practicality to dress and act somewhat like an Englishman maintains his clash of his expected identity and his desired self-identity in the caste system.

Storytelling - Susan Sontag

 In the article, Susan Sontag states that a great writer of fiction not only creates, but also responds to a world: "They evoke humanity in narratives with which we can identify, even though the lives may be remote from our own." Sontag understands that telling every story in humanity is impossible so we must choose which central story we want to convey. Although we must exclude parts of the story to convey this central theme, a good storyteller makes sure the aspects excluded are still reflected. Sontag also states other factors of a good story: a purposeful beginning, goal, and end. A story comes to a finite, definitive ending, satisfies the reader by giving him closure: "A novel is a world with borders. For there to be completeness, unity, coherence, there must be borders." Then, at the end of the article, she reiterates the importance of literature and storytelling for the expansion of the human mind and perspectives. "Literature involves. It is the re-creation of human solidarity. Television (with its illusion of immediacy) distances — immures us in our own indifference." 

Why We Read

"My own eyes are not enough for me, I will see through those of others." - C.S. Lewis

Throughout our history, especially during the Great Depression, literature has served as a form of escapism from the stale and fraught moments in life. However, over the past century, literature as a form of escape has been largely taken over by the movie business. As a result, people have become less admiring of the art of literature. British novelist C.S. Lewis believed that literature expands the minds of people by seeing through the eyes of others and that literature serves as an imaginative rejuvenation: "I become a thousand men and yet remain myself." Unlike movies and television shows, literature allows us to imagine our own characters and invent the worlds depicted through the words of others in our own minds. Furthermore, literature can expand our perspectives by seeing life through the minds of the author "without undermining the privilege, of individuality." Despite the ease of escapism through television and movies, literature is largely important in today's society because it leaves more room for interpretation and for our own mental growth.